1. Field of the Invention
The invention herein resides in the field of electrically powered scooters and more particularly relates to a scooter having a mounted motor and drive wheel, the interconnection of which to the rear wheel is foot-activated when desired.
2. History of the Prior Art
Scooters are normally built with a steerable front wheel and a fixed back wheel rotatably mounted on a chassis having a central platform. To gain momentum, the rider stands with one foot on the platform of the scooter and pushes off the ground with the other foot to propel the scooter forward. For additional momentum, driving means of different mechanical types have been provided for transmitting force from the rider to the front or rear wheel, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos, 4,960,286 and 4,911,457. Also disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,915,403 is a foot pedal mechanically geared to the rear wheel of the scooter for providing additional momentum by the rider""s depression of the foot pedal to propel the scooter forward. Skateboards with battery-powered electric motors are also known. In one such embodiment, an electric motor is connected to one of the wheel""s axles to rotate it by means of a belt attached to the electric motor, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,020,621. Although most motorized scooters employ a clutch to provide some free wheeling when the motor is turned off, there is still considerable friction and drag caused by such clutches. Because of this drag, the rider has to continuously apply power to maintain speed, thereby discharging the battery quickly.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an electric battery-powered scooter that has an easy-to-use and highly efficient mode of operation.
It is a further object of the invention to provide an electric scooter with drag-free coasting, thereby increasing travel distance between battery charges.
The electrically powered scooter of this invention includes a chassis having a front section, a central section and a rear section. In the central section of the chassis is mounted a platform upon which the rider can stand and under which platform is disposed a battery. The scooter has a front wheel mounted at the front section of the chassis to provide steering control and at least one back wheel rotatably mounted at the rear section of the chassis. The scooter is equipped with a foot-operated drive means incorporating a motor mounted on a pedal that can be shifted from an inactive position to an activated position, at the same time activating the motor which, via force transmission means, causes the back wheel to rotate. The electric motor can be placed on a side of the rider""s foot-operated pedal. The pedal can have one end pivotably attached at the rear section of the chassis and in the inactivated position the force transmission means for transmitting force from the motor to the rear wheel of the scooter is mounted on the shaft of the motor where it does not contact the rear wheel. When the rider depresses the pedal, the force transmission means, being a drive wheel, contacts and drives the rear wheel. The scooter is equipped with a resilient return member adapted to urge the pedal from its depressed, activated position to an inactivated position after the rider has released foot pressure so that the drive wheel no longer contacts the rear wheel. The resilient return member can be a spring.
As the rider depresses the pedal and then removes his foot from the pedal, the electric motor drive is, respectively, turned on and off via control means which can be a switch interconnected between the motor and the battery. When the pedal is depressed, the switch turns on the motor and the drive wheel on the shaft of the motor engages the rear wheel, propelling the scooter forward. When the pedal is released, the action of the return spring causes the pedal to return to its inactive position and stop contact of the drive wheel with the rear wheel, thereby turning off the motor.
The force transmission means to transmit force from the motor to the rear wheel of the scooter can be a friction-type drive wheel disposed on the shaft of the motor. The drive wheel of the force transmission can be made of rubber, neoprene, metal or other equivalent suitable material. The control means can be in the form of a switch interconnecting the motor with the battery for turning the motor on and off, and such switch can be a leaf switch, pressure switch, touch switch or other equivalent type of switch. The scooter steering mechanism can include a steering handle, a post ending in a yoke with the front wheel rotatably fixed therein. The scooter can also include means for adjusting the height of the post and means for folding the scooter for storage.